I fried my brand new L2 running it with two cells… Well… i didn’t know there was two versions of the L2 and assumed it could handle a dual cell setup since Simon sells the tubes, but it appears i got the ‘old’ one cell only version from BG.
Anyway, now i have this beautiful host. I’m guessing only the driver died but i’m prepared to replace the emitter too, so what to do with it?
I have very little experience at modding lights. I did assemble two host/driver/emitters before and it went well… sort of. I think i have all the tools.
I have not taken it apart yet and have no idea what driver and emitter PCB size i should consider. And i’m in Europe so i can’t really order parts from the US because of shipping costs.
All your advise and ideas are welcome. I wouldn’t mind pushing the amps to get a potent thrower…
I think the single-cell version of the new L2 (that came with the block-style grip?) took a 17mm driver, the newer ones got a bigger one. If you can’t order form the US, you could order one of the BLF drivers from banggood to get a FET+1 type
edit: this is if you wanted to go back to single-cell use. Ignore me if you want to stick with series cells
well, these things can happen to the best of us! Good excuse to use the host and build something really cool!
do you have any ideas in what you’d like to design/construct?
re parts: parts from Gearbest, AliExpress, eBay etc can be fairly quick in shipping, if you buy at the right shops. in the best case they only need 8-18 days from Asia.
Have you looked at some of the builds here on BLF?
I imagine this host is well suited for a thrower… and with a well driven XHP35 or 50 it could be far reaching?
I’m used to order from chinese sites.
I’ve searched a bit L2 mods here but they often date back a couple years when XML/XML2, MTG2 and SST90 where kings of the show. What now?
I don’t want to get into complicated things. An easy to source emitter and driver would be nice.
Well, XPL-Hi on noctigon, 5.5A buck driver is what I’m going for. Parts will be here in 1-3 days. I would guess the result to be around 1300lm and 250-300kcd. Since my sample was doa I’ll first install the XPL-Hi with a qlite 3A driver to get measurements as close to stock as I can, then bump it up a few notches with the buck driver.
XHP-35 is a really neat emitter, but I don’t believe anyone has figured out how to effectively push it with just 2 cells (I may be wrong). I believe you have to use 4x 26350 or another extension and 2 more 26650.
The replacement went well - XPL HI + BLF A6 driver.
The only thing that’s not right though is the switch that does not work properly for this driver. I can’t ‘half press’ to move up or down through the modes. I have to click on/off very quickly which is very annoying. I guess it is a matter of forward vs reverse clicky design.
Can anyone point me to an appropriate replacement switch?
It’s an odd question. I don’t know the answer. Normally I’d say to ask Richard at Mountain Electronics, but he doesn’t ship overseas. Still, he might be able to say the model of switch you need and you can find it closer to you.
I’m sure Simon knows what model of switch he uses. Maybe he carries a reverse clicky in the same size? IDK, I’m just guessing.
@JasonWW: Thanks to clarify my question.
Indeed i’m looking for a proper replacement switch that works with the BLF A6 driver i put in.
At least i understand now i need a reverse clicky - i’m still a bit confused about those.
I’ll ask Simon and see how it goes…
